Barbados Labour Party back in driver's seat
By Felicia Persaud
Prime Minister Owen
Arthur
It's Owen Arthur time in Barbados again. The Barbados prime minister is already making plans for the next four years following his swearing in for a third-term last Thursday.
This followed the ruling Barbados Labor Party landslide victory on Wednesday, May 21. The BLP won a whopping 23 seats compared to the opposition Democratic Labor Party's meager seven. The party immediately accused the BLP of voter padding. Local television, CBC News, reported heavy voter turnout across the island during the first few hours of voting.
But not to be distracted, PM Arthur immediately gave Barbadians a public holiday on Thursday and named Mia Mottley as the country's new Deputy Prime Minister after he was sworn in.
The Barbados Nation quoted Arthur as saying immediately after his swearing in, that he is, "anxious to come on to the third administration as a matter of great urgency. I do not want to spoil the moment, but there will be one or two things that I will be making an announcement about very soon."
He also said, "There will be zero tolerance in this administration to arrogance; zero tolerance to any mal-administration; zero tolerance to any corruption and there will be full accounting by this administration in every respect, both with things in the future, [and] for things in the past."
PM Arthur also pledged to petition the Governor-General
to carry out a commission of enquiry into Hotels & Resorts
Ltd.
"It must be brought to a closure. I look forward to this
term and, as I said in the campaign, this is going to be a period
of enormous change. What we do in the next five years will be
felt in Barbados for at least two generations. I want the society
to understand why we have to do what we have to do," the
Prime Minister said.
He told Barbadians that his first job would
be to select a new cabinet that can carry the country through
challenging times. PM Arthur will name his new cabinet on Monday,
following his address to the nation on Sunday night.
The ceremonial opening of Barbados' parliament will take place
on 2 June.